A Forced Bystander
by Katrina726
Summary: Clementine, along with Kenny and AJ, were denied access into Wellington. Now, the trio must survive outside of the society. Unfortunately, complications form the fight with Jane leave Kenny sidelined. Can Kenny take care of AJ and Clem in his injured state? Will Clementine be able to watch over Kenny? Rated M for harsh language. (Hey, we're talking Kenny here.)
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

 **Warning:** _I just learned how to edit! Anyways, this is my first stab at fanfiction, so I apologize if there is something really stupid that I didn't notice in here. Additionally, I'm pretty young. Double-danger. I also would really appreciate it if someone could offer some advice to me in the comment section, if they had the time. So...I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading!_

Clementine trudged through the cold snow as burning wind slapped across her face. Kenny trotted slightly behind her with an unreadable expression. She had adamantly refused access into Wellington just a few hours before. Since then, the pair had been searching for a place to stay warm for the night. Kenny hadn't said anything to her after they left Wellington, and she didn't know what to say, so they continued in silence.

AJ was crying softly in her arms. He hadn't eaten for a while now. Clementine knew she had to tell Kenny to stop for a few minutes, but she just didn't know what to say. She quickly turned around to glance at him. His face was still that mask of jumbled emotions. Clem continued to look forward, and decided to speak up.

"I think we should stop for a few minutes to feed AJ." Kenny didn't respond. She looked back at him again. He seemed to be staring at something she couldn't see.

"Kenny," she said, a little louder. He still didn't seem to hear her. "KENNY!" She repeated the name as loud as she could without the chance of attracting the dead. Finally, he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Oh uh, what is it Clem? Sorry 'bout that."

"I think AJ is hungry." Clementine explained simply.

Kenny stopped walking. "Alright Clem," he said. "Gimme him. I can feed him and you can get some formula from one of these bags."

Clem nodded at the man and walked three paces back to meet him. She gently put AJ into Kenny's arms. His face lit up with a smile as he held the infant. She opened one of the bags that they got from Wellington and dug around gently, being careful not to break anything. After a few moments, she came out with some formula. She recalled that they didn't have any water to mix it with.

"Do we have any water Kenny?" she asked, looking up at the man.

Kenny was rocking AJ in his arms. He continued to keep his eye on AJ as he responded to Clementine. "Did ya check the bag, darlin'?"

Clementine was still searching through the bag as she answered. "Not yet." Worry began to overtake her. That baby needs water to survive. He can't eat food; all he can consume is this formula.

Finally, her hand gripped the familiar shape of a water bottle.

"Got it!" She said excitedly.

"That's great Clem."

Kenny squatted down to give AJ back to Clem. She handed him the formula and the water bottle. Kenny already had a cup from the other bag, and he poured some formula and water into the cup. He shook it around, trying to form an even mixture.

As he worked on that, Clementine attempted to control the baby's cries. He was so calm when he was with Kenny, but now he began wailing. She mimicked the way Kenny rocked him earlier, which helped a little. Clementine figured he wouldn't stop crying until he ate.

Kenny put the supplies back into the bag. "I got Alvie. Alright Clem?"

"Okay," she replied. She allowed the one-eyed man to take the baby from her. She watched as Kenny tried to feed the baby from the cup. If only bottles were easy to find during the apocalypse. He cursed under his breath as some of the formula spilled to the ground. It was only a little, but Clementine knew that a little could add up.

"Shouldn't I learn how to feed him?" the young girl suddenly asked.

"Nah. Not yet. It'll be easy if we ever find a damn bottle. You'll figure it out."

Clementine had been careful not to bring up Jane during their journey. Now, during this moment of peace, she felt she had to ask something.

She opted to look away from him as she spoke. "Will you ever do...what you did to Jane to anyone else?"

Clem couldn't see the man's eye widen and his mouth turn into a frown. "I thought we went over this, Clem. It was her or me." he reminded Clem, anger slipping into his voice.

Clementine thought back to the incident that was just over a week ago. She thought AJ was gone, that Jane had killed him. She remembered how confused and little and helpless she had felt as the two adults fought. She remembered Kenny, angrier than she had every seen him before. She felt the gun in her hand again, felt her panic bubble up as it had when she almost shot Kenny. She had let the man kill Jane. Jane was dead and it was her fault. She knew it. Lee would have been able to stop them both. She wasn't Lee and she knew it. She felt she was just a little girl that got everyone killed.

The young girl sighed. "I know. I know. Why didn't you answer my question?"

"I can't promise ya anything. I'll try, okay?" the man muttered.

"Can you at least promise to try then?" Clementine pleaded. She cringed as she realized how little her question made her sound. Promises weren't the magical things she thought they were when she was little. They were just words to her now. At least they should be.

"I-I dunno. I don't trust myself to look after you two. You shoulda just stayed at Wellington."

"Fine," Clementine replied, disappointed. She knew he couldn't make any promises. She was still a kid, but she wasn't stupid. Behind her, Ken finished up with feeding AJ.

"Come on Clem. We gotta keep goin'."

Clementine turned around and walked towards Kenny. She took AJ back. He was now making a bunch of little noises. The walkers wouldn't hear him now. Clem smiled at him and stuck out her tongue. He let out a little gurgle, which caused Clem to laugh happily.

Meanwhile, Kenny grunted as he picked up the two supply bags. He almost fell over as he felt a stabbing pain go through him. He didn't know if he was getting old or if the pain was from that wound on his stomach. He figured it was the latter, and in that case he should keep it from Clem. He figured the kid had enough on her plate right now. She doesn't need to worry about him on top of everything. He looked over at her and saw her playing with AJ. He couldn't help but grin at the innocent scene.

Clementine finished playing with AJ as she saw Kenny gesture for her to follow him. She enjoyed the break from walking, and wasn't exactly happy that they had who knows how many more hours to go. They spared each other a glance as they continued their search for a safe place to stay.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

It had been over an hour since the duo's little break. Since then, the sky had darkened to the point where Clementine and Kenny had to stagger around, almost blind. It didn't help that snow had started to cascade from the dark sky and that the wind stung even greater than before.

Clementine looked over at Kenny and frowned. He had taken his coat off to wrap AJ in. He was shivering fiercely in just a T-shirt, but he didn't complain. Her eyes drifted down to where he was stabbed by Jane. She could tell it was hurting him, because he kept randomly shifting the bag to his elbow to grasp the bloody area. She didn't understand why Kenny was afraid to tell her anything. She could tell he was trying not to worry her, but it was pointless. Growing up during the apocalypse makes you very observant.

She then gazed down at the infant in her arms. He was sleeping so peacefully amid all the chaos. They had run into a few walkers earlier, and yet still this baby managed to sleep through it all. He looked so warm and snug in Kenny's coat. Clementine did enjoy holding him. However, although she would never admit it, her arms were growing stiff and tired from cradling him. Kenny's already carrying a bad wound and two heavy supply bags; he didn't need to throw a baby into the mix.

"Look over there, darlin'!" Kenny yelled excitedly. She followed his gaze to a small wooden cabin. It was hard to make out, and she was thankful that Kenny was able to spot it. Funny the man with one-eye could see better than her.

Kenny's loud voice caused AJ to stir in Clementine's arms. He wailed, upset from being woken up. Clementine wished that Kenny would learn to just be quiet sometimes. Being noisy like that can attract walkers, especially when being loud causes a baby to cry even louder.

"Shit. I'm sorry for bein' so loud, Clem." Kenny apologized, answering her thoughts.

Clementine tried to calm him down by humming and making funny faces. It wasn't working very well; the little guy was pissed.

"It's okay," the girl replied. "You just have to be more careful."

Kenny chuckled. The little girl was giving the grown man advice. Hell, that little girl was more competent than most adults anyway. Suddenly, he heard rustling from a few feet away. Walkers. He cursed and set down his bags.

"Gimme your gun Clem. Watch Alvie. I'll take care o' them."

Clementine quickly grabbed her gun from her back pocket. She gave it to Kenny.

"We don't have too many bullets left." She warned him as he went off.

She rocked AJ as Kenny took care of things. She remembered something her mom used to sing her when she was little. It seemed so long ago. She almost cried when she tried to picture her parents and realized she forgot little details. What was that thing dad used to tell her everyday before work? What color were her mother's eyes? Her parents faces would someday fade completely from her memory, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Now what was the name of that lullaby? She remembered the words, but she couldn't recall its name. "The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn," kept running through her head. She started to sing, but realized she forgot the tune also. Saddened, she decided to just console the child instead.

"Shhh, it's alright. It'll be okay. Kenny will get the walkers and we can go to that house over there. See? It might even be warm in there. Shh. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." she whispered to the infant in her most soothing voice.

Multiple yards away from the gentle yet somber scene, Kenny wrestled with a few walkers. He had Clem's pistol, but he didn't want to use a gun to attract more trouble. He wished he had took Jane's knife, but he thought it was in bad taste. Yeah, like murdering the girl wasn't in bad taste.

Instead, he was bashing their skulls in with a big tree branch he found. It wasn't the best method, but he knew if he was cautious he could keep the upper hand. Whether he liked it or not, he knew he had to stay safe for Clementine and Alvie. He couldn't continue with his recklessness.

Kenny slammed the last remaining of the four walkers in the skull with as much force as he could muster.

"Take that, ya fucker.", he retorted.

It was now wriggling on the wet ground, continuing it's relentless growls. He lifted his left leg as high as he could, and stomped it down onto the walker's head, crushing it. Pain rushed through him and he fell over.

"FUCK!" he yelled, groaning. He didn't think he was capable of getting up. He could make out the sound of footsteps bounding towards him. Kenny didn't want Clem to worry, but now she had to. Now she'll be looking after him and fussing over his injury, when really he should be looking after her.

Clementine heard her guardian swear and turned her head just in time to see him fall to the ground, clutching his abdomen. She sprinted over to him, being careful to not drop the infant. His face looked very pale all of a sudden, and blood was seeping all over his shirt.

"Kenny! Are you okay?," she questioned, suddenly fearful. She crouched down in the snow and in the process got her clothes wet. She no longer cared about the cold, not in the slightest.

"I'll live," he groaned. He tried to sit up, but he fell back down. His entire body was tingling against the damp snow.

"We have to get to the house over there. It's not very far away. Maybe we got some medical supplies from Edith. I can stitch you up in there," the young girl quivered. I can't let someone else die, she thought. She held her hand out to the older man, even though she knew it wouldn't help much.

Kenny saw Clem's concerned face, and it filled him with guilt. If she would have just gone to Wellington, she wouldn't be freezing and she wouldn't be driving herself crazy with worry over a man who doesn't deserve it. When the girl held out her small hand, he grasped it with his much larger one and with the extra help he was surprisingly able to get himself standing.

"Are you going to be okay?" Clementine asked.

Kenny tried to stifle a groan. However, noticing Clementine's dubious expression, he decided it was no use lying to the girl. She saw right through him.

"It hurts like fuckin' hell, but I think I'll manage." he confessed, forcing a smile.

"Okay. I'll get the supplies and you can hold AJ. We need to get you inside." the girl ordered.

Before Kenny could respond, she thrusted the infant into his arms, and marched her way to the two supply bags. She braced herself for picking them up and grasped the handles tightly. Kenny was talking to her in the distance, but she ignored him to focus on the task at hand. On the count of three, she hoisted the two large bags. She was shocked that Kenny supported their weight for all those hours. She stopped tuning Kenny out.

"-and there might be some bad folks in there. Walkers too. It ain't safe for you, Clem." he begged.

"I can handle it, Kenny. You need to rest. You're hurt." Clementine remarked. The words came out calm and cool, despite her inner panic. His injury looked bad, really bad. Well, she couldn't actually see the wound, but she knew that the blood wasn't a good sign.

Kenny tried to butt in, but she didn't care. She was not letting him convince her otherwise. The man needed to get to shelter, and quick. I can't waste another minute, she thought to herself. Overwrought, Clementine jogged in the direction of the cabin, ignoring his protests. She knew he wouldn't be able to catch up to her. She just had to make sure it was safe as soon as possible. Already, the supply bags were causing her arms to burn.

"CLEM! GET BACK HERE!" the man bellowed. He forced himself to move forwards despite the intense agony that shot through him with each step. She was acting insane! She didn't even get her gun back!

Clementine heard Kenny yelling behind her. His words were thick with fear and his voice was shaking. She ignored him, reminding herself that what she was doing was in his best interest. She made it to the cabin, and she listened at the door, and was greeted with the pleasant sound of silence. She kept her ear on the door for a few more moments just to be safe. Once satisfied, she slowly pushed the front door open.

Inside, she saw what used to be a rather quaint living room. It had a plush and soft looking couch that was rather torn up, a small coffee table, an empty fireplace, a few dusty paintings, and broken objects littering the floor. She crossed the threshold and dropped the heavy sacks on the ground. Good riddance, she mused. She slowly stepped across the wooden floor to the center of the room. Clementine then noticed the far wall was plastered with blood.

She crept across the floor, being careful to avoid the broken glass. Some kind of struggle must have gone down here. It didn't seem to be that big of a deal to the child, because struggles are rather commonplace nowadays. Clementine remained close to the wall to prevent being seen by any inhabitants of the house. She paused before crossing the archway. Kenny's yells didn't sound as distant, for she could now make out his words if she strained hard enough. He must be exerting himself greatly. She hoped her endeavors didn't do more harm than good.

She took a deep breath, and crossed into the next room. Suddenly, she heard low growls close by. Her eyes darted around. After a moment, she spotted the assailant. However, it was too late. The walker lunged at her and knocked her small body to the cold wooden floor. She yelped in surprise. It's teeth were inches from her face. She tried to push the creature off of her, but to no avail. She simply wasn't strong enough.

Clementine felt it's rank breath on her face as she reached into the pocket for her gun. Her fingers grasped air. Her heart dropped as she remembered that she gave her only weapon to Kenny.

The girl called out for help. She continued to struggle with the walker that was on top of her. Luckily for Clem, it appeared to have been a teenage girl. She knew if it was an adult she would have already been a goner. Her eyes spotted a large shard of glass a few inches away. Again, she pushed against the walker as hard as she could with one hand and with the other grabbed the make-shift weapon.

Clementine realized that her next move was risky. However, the small girl's strength was wavering. If she didn't act soon, the walker would gain the upper hand. She pushed forward with all her body weight, and stabbed the zombie in the eye. Blood oozed from it's lifeless eye as it continued to growl. As she went to stab it again, she kicked it in the gut, causing it to fall off of her.

"KENNY! HELP!" she cried out.

The glass cut her hand, but that was the least of her worries. The walker was blocking her only known escape. She didn't want to bound through the rest of the house, especially after making all that noise. Both walkers and people could hear her and could be coming after her. She slowly backed up as the walker began to get off the floor.

"KENNY!", she cried once more.

She continued to back up, never removing her eyes from the walker. It was closing in on her. She tripped over something and fell to the ground once more.

"CLEM!"

She felt relieved as she heard Kenny's voice from right outside the house. She yelled that she was inside as she picked up what she fell on. She felt sick when she discovered it was just a baseball. She couldn't defend herself with a toy.

The walker lunged at her, and Clementine's heart stopped. She knew there was no way she could dodge it's attack. As she sat there, anticipating the bite, a shot rang out and the walker collapsed limply onto her body.

She glanced up, shocked, to see Kenny standing back, AJ cradled in one arm, pistol in the opposite hand. His eyes were flashing with a wide array of emotions. He shakily lowered the gun, and haphazardly ran towards Clementine.

He pushed the walker off of the girl, and crouched down to hug her. Clementine accepted his embrace, thankful. She didn't want to let go of the man. She felt stupid, so stupid. She was just trying to help, but she almost got herself killed. She was always so careful, and she just dived into a poorly thought out plan.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?," he yelled, still embracing the child.

"This is my fault Kenny. I'm sorry." she replied.

"You outta be more careful, Clem. I thought I lost ya." His voice softened considerably after hearing the guilt in her voice.

Kenny had been so terrified as he made his way to the house. He had tried to run, but he couldn't. Instead, he staggered slowly towards the house until he found this burst of energy and strength. He had thought he lost another child. He could never go through that again; the second time would literally kill him.

He backed away from the child, and suddenly the pain was back in his gut. It had dissipated for a few moments, but it must have just been an adrenaline rush.

Clementine tried to explain her actions. "I'm so sorry Kenny. I was just trying to help. I-I panicked and-"

Kenny interrupted her. "I know darlin'. You just can't go-"

Kenny cut himself off as the room began to spin. Black dots danced in his vision, and he looked down and saw blood rushing out of his wound. He attempted to stagger forward, hand applying pressure to his wound. He felt himself completely losing balance.

"TAKE ALVIE!" he commanded, as he crashed to the floor, unconscious.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Clementine bounded into action as her guardian fell by comprehending his simple order. Every thing happened very suddenly, but luckily with her good reflexes she managed to catch the infant before he struck the ground.

The loud thud Kenny had made when he collapsed made her feel sick. She looked down at the man, slumped on the floor. It reminded her of her last glimpse of Lee and his pale face and still chest.

Lee told her to leave him. She had wanted to shoot him, but she obeyed his final wishes. Even moments from death Lee thought about her more than himself. It made the girl sick to think that he was just a walker handcuffed to a radiator. That great man that saved her was just another dead man walking to anyone else.

Thankfully, she noticed that Kenny's chest was rising and falling with life. She couldn't handle feeling responsible for another person's death. Clementine quickly formulated a plan in her mind of how to deal with the situation. She figured she could stitch up his injury, just like Christa taught her. She knew she was capable, because Christa's lessons were brought to life when she stitched her arm up in the cabin group's shed.

\

Thinking of the cabin group caused a wave of anguish to rush through her. She was so unsure of them at first, but they all proved to be decent people, surviving just like her. At least they were surviving until she came along.

The young girl forced herself out of her reverie. She had to get moving, and fast. Clementine wanted to put AJ on the couch, because it seemed to be a rather comfortable place. However, she knew AJ would be safer if she could constantly watch over him. She opted to gently place him on the floor next to Kenny.

"You stay right here" she instructed pointlessly. AJ could neither understand her nor move.

Clementine rushed over to the supply bags. She wanted to dump everything on the floor and throw things around, but she controlled herself. If she let her panic take over, she wouldn't be able to help Kenny. See what happens when you panic, she thought. People get hurt when you panic.

After a few excruciatingly long moments, Clementine found some stitches, a needle, and bandages. She dug through the bags a second longer to look for some kind of disinfectant, but she came out empty handed.

She rushed over to the fallen man, and took a deep breath before beginning. She had never given anyone else stitches, but she figured it was easier than giving them to yourself.

"First you have to thread the needle," she told herself. She was able to get it through on her first attempt.

She sighed. "Now comes the fun part, Kenny."

Clementine lifted the man's shirt. She gasped in shock from the sight of the wound. Before, it was a narrow slit that was a few inches long. Now, the injury wasn't so narrow. Blood was absolutely everywhere and it was still gushing out.

She looked around for something she could use to stop the bleeding. Clementine didn't remember seeing rags in the Wellington bags, and she knew she had to act quickly. Her eyes fell on the coat that AJ was wrapped up in. AJ was cooing happily, oblivious to the mayhem surrounding him.

"Sorry buddy," Clementine apologized to the infant. She gently yet swiftly unwrapped the baby from the fabric and placed him on the floor. He let out a small cry and then continued with his coos.

Clementine firmly pushed the coat against Kenny's wound. She held it there for a few moments. After it got rather bloody, she applied pressure to the injury with a cleaner part of the coat. The blood was no longer gushing out, so she took the opportunity to begin the stitches.

She was aware that it wasn't ideal to leave the wound dirty. However, nothing about this situation was ideal. She couldn't just magically wish up medical supplies. She pushed the needle through his skin and pulled it out through the other side. The sound of the needle going through skin was grotesque to her ears. She shuddered. Clementine continued lacing up the wound until she reached the other end. She tied off the end and uttered a sigh of relief. She was thankful that the man hadn't woken up to see her preforming surgery on him. Now that would have been a shock!

She smirked proudly. "See? That wasn't so bad." She didn't know if she was talking to Kenny or herself.

Clementine then realized an error in her plan: She wasn't sure if she could get the bandages on him. She could muster up the strength to pull him and lean him up against something and then wrap him up. However, she feared that doing so would undo his stitches. Christa had taught her well, but she was aware of how stunted her medical knowledge was.

Her thoughts were interrupted by AJ wailing beside her. She picked up the baby and comforted him.

"It's going to be alright," she reassured the infant. The words sounded like a fib to her own ears. She hugged AJ against her chest and repeated the sentiment.

Clementine knew that there was nothing to do now but wait and keep an eye out for the last two people in her little and constantly shrinking world.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Kenny awakened about an hour after Clementine's surgery. His good eye fluttered open and he groaned, disoriented. He noticed Clementine by his side, slowly nodding off. The pain in his abdomen was duller than before, but it was still throbbing relentlessly. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, managing to ignore the pain.

What the fuck, the man thought as his eyes flowed down to his torso. His shirt was pushed up and his wound was all stitched up. Kenny couldn't believe that his injury was laced up with stitches. He wondered when they were put in, and how long he was out. Clem couldn't have put them in, could she? She mentioned it earlier, but he never thought she could actually _do_ it.

"Hey, Clem," he whispered.

The young girl's head shot up. Her head bobbed around the room, startled. Finally, her golden eyes settled on Kenny.

"Kenny!" she exclaimed. "How does it feel? I never did stitches on someone else before."

Kenny shook his head in a combination of amusement, awe, and pride. He couldn't believe that girl was able to stitch him up. He looked down again, admiring her handiwork. I couldn't have done 'em that neatly, that's for sure, he thought.

"How'd ya know how to do that, Clem?" he questioned.

Kenny noticed her brow furrow as she thought of a response. She opened her mouth and closed it, reconsidering her words.

"Well, um you know the cabin group?"

"Uh, yeah," he responded simply. He wondered why she seemed so hesitant to answer his question.

"Before I met them I was bit by a dog. They found me and locked me in a shed. They uh thought it was a walker bite. I sneaked around their house to find supplies and had to stitch myself up in a shed. Christa gave me lessons before, and I just followed her advice." explained Clementine. She shrugged, trying to remain casual.

Kenny was left speechless for a moment. Those shitheads, he thought. They locked a little fucking girl in a shed! Who the hell does that? He grimaced, and shook his head angrily. He was about to say something, but when he saw Clementine's expression, he stopped himself in his tracks. He knew that she saw the rage on his face, and that she was hesitant to talk because she realized he would become upset. Kenny inhaled shakily, and tried to control himself. The girl doesn't need to tip-toe around a grown man, he said internally. He squeezed his hands into fists, and carefully monitored his next few words.

"Well, they turned out to be okay, huh?" he asked, forcing a smile. You just have to get through the day without exploding, he mused. For some reason Clem decided to stick around, and there's nothing you can do to change that. Try to not fuck up for once, okay?

They young girl smiled faintly. Her eyes garnered a far away, dreamy haze.

"Yes. They did," she stated sadly.

"You did a damn fine job, Clem." the man complimented, changing the subject. Of course I had to go upset her, he thought regretfully.

Clementine still seemed distant, but she replied nonetheless. "I didn't though. It wouldn't have gotten so bad if I didn't make you run like that."

Kenny frowned. He had began noticing that Clementine was blaming herself for everything bad that had happened. He felt ashamed knowing that he had contributed to this. He had yelled at her when Sarita died and had made it explicitly clear that he thought it was her fault. In reality, he knew Sarita was a goner either way. Yeah, if the kid hadn't gone chopping her arm off, they would've had a few more hours together. But Kenny knew that he'd probably yell at her for something else. He just loses himself sometimes. In fact, it's been happening more and more often as of late. Kenny just wished she would have entered Wellington without him. He wouldn't know what to do if his stubbornness or rage caused the girl any more harm.

The man took his hat off and ran his hands through his thick graying hair and sighed. "This ain't your fault. If you wouldn't have stitched me up like this, I would still be bleedin' out right now. You did a good job, alright?" he said intensely. Clementine didn't respond. Kenny continued, hoping he could convince her. "You always do a good job, alright Clem?"

A sigh escaped from the young girl's lips. "Yeah. I know."

Kenny could tell the girl wasn't convinced. He plopped his hat back on his head and sighed once more.

Kenny forced himself to stand and held back his groans for Clementine's sake. However, he couldn't remove the wince from his face. He pushed forward towards the entrance room to get the supply bags. Every step burned, but he was determined.

"You need to sit down! You'll pop your stitches!" he heard Clementine yell from behind him.

He continued despite her pleas. "Nah, I'm fine. It doesn't hurt at all." he lied.

Clementine heaved herself up and walked over to Kenny, still holding AJ. She slid the baby into her left arm, and lifted one of the bags with her right arm.

"I didn't ask if it hurt. I said that you'll undo your stitches, and you will" she stated bluntly.

The one eyed man sighed. It was obvious that he was just putting on a show, and that he wasn't capable of carrying that sack. That girl could see right through him.

"You shouldn't be doing things like this." he remarked.

Clementine smirked, somewhat humored. All of the horrible things she had done and seen flashed before her eyes. What was carrying a heavy bag in comparison to causing the death of countless friends? What was straining a muscle compared to constantly losing loved ones? She remembered how he told her not to drink and that it wasn't good for "a kid her age." She had listened to him, but found it to be rather funny. Kenny always got caught up on the little things.

Clementine forced AJ into Kenny's arms. Kenny wasn't winning this battle, that's for sure. She knew the man would do whatever it took to keep her safe, and was very stubborn. Still, she thought, he should look after himself too. She grabbed the other bag with her newly freed hand.

"Yeah? Well neither should you." she retorted. She looked up at Kenny and found him dumbfounded. The girl then turned around and headed to the cabin's upstairs, ignoring the protests of her new guardian. Finally, she said to herself. I'm finally doing something good for once, even if it is small.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Kenny shook his head, incredulous. He couldn't believe that eight year old he met at Hershel's farm was the same kid that was staying with him now. The old Clementine would chastise others for cussing and scream or freeze up at the sight of danger. This Clementine took things into her own hands and looked danger straight in the face. He wondered if there was anything specific that made her change so much. Although the man realized anything could cause a transition like that in times like today.

AJ had began crying lightly. Kenny comforted him and followed after Clementine. He felt a strong sense of fatigue resulting from the blood loss, and moving around wasn't easy going. The movement of his legs up the stairs felt very forced and awkward.

"Do you need help getting up here?" Clementine's voice called from upstairs.

Kenny sighed, already slightly annoyed by the special treatment. He isn't letting a little pain hold him back, and he doesn't need to be taken care of. "No, I'm fine." he replied roughly.

"Okaaaaay." he heard her respond, her voice thick with disbelief.

After a few moments, Kenny made it to the top of the stairs. He felt winded from the short distance. He took a second to catch his breath at the top and then looked up to see Clementine. Her big eyes were thick with suspicion as she glared him down.

"You seem pretty tired for being okay." she pointed out.

"Aw, didn't ya hear? Me and Alvie were just doin' some exercises before coming up. We gotta stay sharp, you know?" he joked. He just wanted Clementine to stop giving him the death glare. He could handle everything _just fine._

The girl folded her arms, unamused. "Come on, Kenny. There's a bedroom with two beds. We can set up camp in there." She tried to gauge his response to that. He seemed to have no qualms with her plan, so she continued. "We can eat first. Then you can sleep while I take first watch." At that last part, the man's eye flashed.

"What do you mean, "first watch"? I will take first...and uh...second watch. As in, only I take watch."

"What?!" Clementine asked, perturbed. "You know I can handle it."

"It ain't about that. I know you can. The thing is, it's dangerous, and I don't need you getting hurt, alright? I am takin' care of you, not the other way around!" he exclaimed.

Clementine hated when Kenny got like this. He always wanted things his way, even if he was being irrational. It was just like when Kenny refused to let Sarita carry that heavy box. He gets so aggravated when he can't protect those he cares about. Clementine doesn't hate his intentions, but she does admit to herself that his carry through could use a little work. Protecting people is one thing, but trying to control them, even if it is for their safety, is another.

However, Clementine could spot the gleam of determination in his good eye. It isn't worth it, she thought to herself. The girl was too exhausted and too ravenous to start an argument.

"Fine," she said. "I'm just worried, okay? You need to be careful."

"Got it, captain," he replied wryly. "You ready? Bet you can't wait to sit down to a meal."

The corners of Clementine's lips curved upwards into a smile. Some time to relax combined with a light meal would surely lower the tension. She slowly led Kenny towards the room, trying her best to not seem condescending. She offered assistance once, but the man insisted he was fine so she dropped it. Kenny seemed to be in a talkative mood, and the girl knew she had to take advantage of the fact. The man needs space at times, but she enjoyed talking to him whenever time allowed it.

The three emerged from the hallway into a rather large bedroom. The room contained two twin beds covered with flannel sheets that made Clementine feel cozy just looking at them. She couldn't recall the last time she had slept in a real bed. Her eyes drifted around the bedroom, taking in all of the luxuries she had long been without. There was a mahogany bookshelf brimming with novels along with two large wooden dressers, a small toychest, and a decently sized work-desk. Of course the room had it's share of broken and thrown about items, but compared to the downstairs, it was a neat freak's haven.

The girl looked up at Kenny, confused by his neutral expression. He didn't seem very excited to be presented with such a nice place to stay.

"Don't you just love this place?" she asked excitedly.

Clementine stared at him intently, waiting for him to respond. After a long moment, he spoke. "Yeah, it's great Clem. It just reminds me of the ski lodge I was at. Sarita, Walter, and Matthew...I coulda done somethin' to help them. They didn't have to die."

Clementine wished she could've taken her question back. In the moment, she had forgotten all about the ski lodge Kenny stayed at, and with that forgot all the bad memories that he associated with the place.

"I'm...sorry." The words came out meekly. Clementine's eyes burned into the floor. She never got to really know any of those people. Still, they were aquainted enough for the girl to realize they didn't deserve to go out in the ways they did. Nobody deserved a brutal death. Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand placed firmly on her shoulder.

"Hey." Kenny said reassuringly. "I'll never get 'em back. I...I wish I could've died in their place, to be honest. I shouldn't be here right now. I shoulda died with Kat and Duck. And I do wish you would've stayed at Wellington. But...well, part of me is glad you stuck with me, Clem. I'm real glad I have you." Kenny confessed.

The man's confession filled her with happiness, but at the same time made her heart drop. He still wants to die, she realized. Clementine worried that he was just going through the motions, only staying alive for her and the baby. Now, she couldn't pretend that Kenny was fine. He just flat out told her he wants to die, just like he did in the tent. She knew that he had lost everything, just like she herself did. Unlike the girl, however, Kenny had lost his will to live. It seemed to the girl that he had lost that a long time ago. There was no way she could've left him at Wellington, knowing the state he was in. Yeah, he'd want to stay alive for the two kids. However, the temptation to let go would've been too great considering his chances to get into Wellington were low.

On the other hand, she was beginning to feel that Kenny really cared for her personally. When they met, the girl was overjoyed. However, the comments from Jane about Kenny did strike a chord in the girl. Does Kenny only want me to be a puppet he can control? Does he only want me for selfish reasons? Now, Clementine felt she could finally answer 'no' to those questions. His behavior at the gates of Wellington and his words to her now challenged her fears. He didn't just want a child he could control and keep to protect any semblance of his sanity. He just wanted her to be safe and happy, which meant he had to care.

Clementine felt like crying, but she held it in. Instead, a quivering smile found its way onto her face as she looked up at Kenny.

"I'm glad I have you too, Kenny. We-we'll make it, okay?"

Kenny took a deep breath. "I sure hope so, darlin'. And uh...sorry for putting all of this on you. You don't need to here shit like that."

Clementine watched Kenny turn away from her, over towards the supply bags. He grabbed a can and gestured over to her. She made her way towards the man, no longer sure of what to say. What could be said after all of that?

As Kenny struggled with the can, Clementine found herself wondering what would happen next. At the moment, they had food and a defendable shelter. However, there were so many threats lurking in every corner. What happens when supplies run out? How bad is Kenny's wound? Is this place really abandoned? She shrugged her thoughts away as Kenny handed her a now opened can of beans. Together the two ate, speaking to one another occasionally. The conversation stayed light and irrelevant, and Clementine was thankful for that. Although both appeared calm, their minds were racing and their hearts were thudding anxiously. No matter what they do, nothing can end the chaos that consumes their lives.


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey! If you're reading this, I just have a few quick things to say. Sorry if the story is a little slow paced. I'm finally figuring out where I want to take it, and I don't want to rush things. I'm trying to not ignore the relationship between Kenny and Clem for what I want to accomplish plot-wise. This chapter will be a little fillery and cheesy. I just wanted to have this to guide us into the next chapter. Thank you for reading!_

 **CHAPTER 6**

Kenny sat by the bedroom door, Clementine's gun grasped firmly in his clammy palm. Fatigue was washing over him, but he wouldn't allow himself any much needed rest. He had been sitting here for hours, making sure the house was safe. His ears picked up every little noise in the house, and none of them suggested that people or zombies had found their way in.

He occasionally glanced over at Clementine. The peaceful expression on her face combined with the calming rise and fall of her chest and her soft, shallow breathing filled him with affection. Kenny recalled her weary voice telling him to rest, and how moments later she was murmuring in her slumber.

Before he put Clementine to bed, the two of them had thrown together a crib for AJ. Kenny couldn't help but also smile as he watched the infant. He was sleeping so gently, a beacon of innocence and hope in this dark and inhumane world.

With each passing moment, Kenny found it harder and harder to stay alert and awake. He chalked the weariness up to his blood loss, because all-nighters had become all too common for the man. Although life was better at the ski lodge, and he was surrounded by family and had found a new love, he had spent many nights lying awake, staring at the ceiling. Hauntings from his past and unanswered questions had danced through his mind on those nights. On some of those nights, he simply gave up and allowed his demons to control him. On others, he pushed for sleep and was treated with nightmares.

He recalled one evening from back at the ski lodge. He was lying in the bed he shared with Sarita, crying after one of the worst dreams of his life. The night flashed vividly before him.

 _Kenny stood shakily, back at his old home. His house was in shambles, with items tossed about and all his family's furniture torn apart. Suddenly, he felt pulled towards the upstairs. He crept slowly to the second floor, shivering at the sight of last year's family portrait. Normally, looking at the picture brought a smile to his face. They had all gotten dressed up so nicely for the picture, but minutes before it was taken, Duck spilled a soda all over himself. His son had the dumbest grin in the photo, and so did Kenny himself. However, this time the photo brought a frown to his face. The glass was broken, and splatters of dried blood covered his wife and child's face._

 _Upon reaching the upstairs, he was pulled towards his son's room. He cautiously opened the door and entered. He walked to the center of the room, and heard the door slam shut behind him. Kenny jumped, and forced himself to turn around._

 _Kenny collapsed to his knees in anguish from the sight before him. Katjaa and Duck stood in front of the door, zombified. They both had a gunshot in their heads. Katjaa lunged at him, leaving Kenny to anticipate the bite. Instead, she whispered into his ear._

 _"_ _You got us killed Kenny! You killed my boy! You couldn't stop me from killing myself! You didn't even try!"_

 _"_ _I-I did try. I just couldn't-"Kenny tried to reply, but he was cut off._

 _"_ _Look at him!" Katjaa exclaimed. "You did this to him!"_

 _Kenny couldn't pry his eyes from the ground. He felt his head being jerked up. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block everything out. Katjaa's gripped tightened and Kenny felt his jaw breaking. He shook his head, and finally relented._

 _For the first time, Kenny took a good look at his son. His flesh was decaying and hanging off of his small frame. Ribs were apparent for the skin above them had rotted away. His precious face was destroyed by a gun wound. His lifeless, bloodshot eyes were focused intensely on Kenny, and he growled at his father._

 _"_ _I hate you, dad," he snarled "You couldn't save me! You can't save anyone!"_

 _"_ _I am so sorry. So sorry." Kenny's voice was finally breaking with tears. His words were barely legible._

 _Katjaa grabbed his chin and yanked it so he was looking right into her lifeless eyes. "You aren't sorry! You are a horrible, selfish man, Kenny! You are a monster!"_

 _"_ _Please," Kenny begged. "I know I've done some bad things, but-"_

 _"_ _I'm glad I raised the gun to my head. At least I could escape you. But I can see that you never cared. You already moved on." Katjaa stated coldly. She chuckled._

 _Duck butted in from across the room. "Sarita is gonna die too, daddy. You won't save her."_

 _Katjaa spat in his face and said her last words. "You are not the man I married."_

 _She and Duck then disappeared, leaving Kenny by himself. His eyes looked around his son's room, taking in all of Duck's old toys and drawings. Memories of his old life flashed before his eyes. He remembered playing catch with Duck in here on a rainy day. The taped up lamp was a testament to that night. On the wall was Kenny's favorite of all of his son's little doodles. It was a picture of the three of them, all with mustaches. When Duck had showed it to him, he had cracked up. Now, he stared at it, deeply despaired. He couldn't believe Duck would never play with any of his toys or create anymore of his childish drawings._

 _Out of nowhere, a gun appeared on the floor beside Kenny. He picked it up, and toyed with it. He was so against what he was about to do, but everything was too much. He wasn't strong, and he sure as hell couldn't fight this anymore. Kenny raised the gun to his head, and pulled the trigger. Everything went black._

 _Still, Kenny's nightmare wasn't over. He was back at the ski lodge now, in the main room by the massive fireplace. Matthew, Walter, and Sarita lie dead on the floor. Their stomachs were ripped open by walkers and their faces were stretched in an eternal expression of horror and pain. The cold chill that went through Kenny was an extreme contrast to the snapping embers of the fire._

 _A zombie was still clawing at Sarita's intestines. It turned around, growling. He was greeted by the face of his wife. Before finally waking up, Kenny heard his son's disembodied voice._

 _"_ _I told you that you couldn't save them."_

 _Kenny woke up in a pool of sweat. It took him a moment to realize that he was sobbing. Beside him, Sarita stirred under the thick blankets. She groggily called Kenny's name. Kenny tried to suppress his cries, but the tears kept falling and his throat kept choking. He was embarrassed that this stupid dream had made him so emotional. He knew that both Katjaa and Duck wouldn't feel that way towards him, and that his nightmare was cliché in a way. But truly, the dream spelled out those unspoken fears that he was flailing to bury._

 _Sarita pushed herself up to look at Kenny. After a moment, her weary mind took in the scene. "Kenny? Are you alright?"_

 _Kenny managed to push out a few words between sobs. "I'm fine."_

 _Sarita placed her hands on the man's tense shoulders. He tried to push her hands away, but she massaged his shoulders regardless. After a few moments, Kenny stopped his cries._

 _"_ _You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, Kenny. Still, it might make you feel better." she said gently, still massaging his shoulders._

 _"_ _It was just a bad dream, hon. Go back to sleep. You weren't supposed to see me like this." he replied._

 _Sarita released him and tried to make him look her in the eyes. Kenny avoided eye-contact, obviously ashamed by what Sarita had witnessed._

 _"_ _You don't have to be ashamed. You have been through a lot, and it's okay to cry. You told me that you lost your family once. I don't know if this is about that, but I can promise you one thing. It will never be easy, getting over that. Still, I know we can make it. Together" Sarita squeezed Kenny's hand. "I love you, Kenny."_

 _"_ _I love you too, babe." Kenny replied in a forced voice. He pushed Sarita away and collapsed down on the bed. He rolled himself over and threw a pillow over his head, ending the discussion. Sarita's words repeated in his head._

 _I love you, Kenny._

 _If only Sarita knew what happened to everyone he loved._

That night had felt so long ago. The dream had originally broken Kenny, for the words of his wife and son resonated deeply within him. Now, looking back, the nightmare had become reality. As Kenny pondered the dream, the power of sleep pulled him under. He drifted asleep, leaving no one to guard the house.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Clementine felt herself thrust out of sleep. Confused, she threw the blanket back over her head, hoping to get more rest. Upon hearing noises, she jolted awake. She listened intently. It sounded as if items were being thrown about downstairs. The actions sounded deliberate, instead of accidental. Fear momentarily froze her as her mind concluded that bandits were inhabiting the first floor of the house. She took a moment to shake off her terror, and forced herself out of bed.

Her mind cleared from the shock, although it remained somewhat foggy with sleep. Clementine then noticed Kenny, slumped asleep against the far wall. She had known that Kenny would be too tired to stay up. Christa had taught her a few of the side affects of blood loss.

Her plan, at the moment, was rather simple. She just had to wake Kenny, grab AJ, and get out of here. She stepped slowly and cautiously across the floor, trying to avoiding making any noises. She picked AJ up from his make-shift crib and put a finger gently on his lips when he cried softly. She rocked him for a minute, and he closed his eyes. She continued towards the wall to alert Kenny. Before she could wake him, a large noise blared through the house. It sounded as if a rather hefty object was knocked over. AJ wailed in response to the large sound, waking Kenny and summoning whoever was downstairs.

Kenny's one eye snapped open. "What are you doin' up, Clem?" he asked, voice thick with the leftovers of sleep.

Before the girl could explain, the two of them heard footfalls sprinting up the stairs. Kenny scrambled to his feet and threw his pistol at Clementine. She nearly dropped it. AJ was still crying in her arms, providing a trail for the bandits to follow. She rocked him quickly, hoping to silence his cries. However, she knew the damage was already done.

Within a minute, a Caucasian man kicked the door open and walked towards Clementine and AJ, pistol in hand. He was dressed warmly and sported a blue baseball hat that covered his brown hair. The man had two lackeys by his side. The first was an Indian man. He had rather handsome features, although they were contorted by the dangerous scowl that lined his face. His other friend was a younger Asian woman. Although she seemed tough, her dark eyes held a glimpse of gentleness.

"Hey there." the Caucasian man said. He sounded as if he was talking to friends, instead of people he planned on robbing.

His lackey stepped forwards menacingly. He was holding a baseball bat and was pounding it into his hand.

"Like to play a game?" he asked, his dark eyes cold.

The man in the hat groaned. "Come on, man. These are are pals. Be polite."

Although the girl knew that they were just putting on a show to seem threatening, she still was scared. Who could know what these strangers are really like? Bandits had proved themselves time and time again to be dangerous. Despite her fear, she forced her face into an emotionless mask. She didn't want to let them see what she was truly feeling.

"How 'bout you get the fuck out of here before I rip your damn throats out!" yelled Kenny. He slid in front of Clementine, and put an arm in front of her protectively.

Clementine whispered his name through clenched teeth. He can't do this now, she thought. She believed that some fights weren't worth starting, and that this was one of them. The only thing his threats would do is escalate the situation. However, he gave no indication of hearing the warning and fear in her voice. In fact, he gave no indication of hearing her at all.

The man in the hat spoke up. "Chillax, old man. We just wanna have some fun."

"Shoot this fucker, Clem!" Kenny ordered.

Clementine was unsure of what to do. She knew hostage situations weren't exactly Kenny's thing, but she didn't have much experience either. She also wanted to avoid a confrontation, but that already seemed impossible. After debating it for a moment, she shakily rose her gun. In retaliation, the man in the hat raised his.

He eyed Clementine and allowed his eyes to drift towards AJ. His lips pulled upwards into a grin. "That doesn't look like fun to me. I can tell you and this girl here have a lot of fun."

"What the fuck are you sayin'?" Kenny questioned. His eye was flashing and his arm was no longer slung in front of Clementine. Instead, his cut-up hands were by his side, balled up into tight fists.

"Kenny! Calm down!" Clementine heaved, beginning to panic.

The woman spoke up. "Shut the hell up, kid!"

"Calm down, Martha. Loosen up. We're gonna tear this place up! They can be our partners in crime. And you know, I'm just saying those two obviously had some fun, what, ten months ago?" the first man continued.

Clementine looked up at Kenny and saw his face contort with rage. She didn't exactly understand the last part, but she knew it had to be a pretty bad insult. Kenny took a few strong strides towards the bandits. She didn't believe he would do this. They can't threaten people that are armed! They can't attack on the off-chance that the bandits are bluffing!

"Calm down," Clementine repeated. Still, however, Kenny continued towards the man.

"You better shut your fuckin' mouth right now!" he spat. Clementine watched in terror as Kenny jabbed his finger into the man's chest.

"Name's Nate, by the way. You're rude though. You didn't even ask."

Kenny raised his hands, presumably to strangle Nate.

"I'll shoot her. I'll shoot the girl!" Nate threatened, still maintaining a cool demeanor.

Kenny lowered his hands, although it was obvious that holding back was killing him. "Get the fuck outta here. That's your last warning, _Nate._ " he growled.

Nate scratched his head in mock thought and dropped his gun. "Hmm. Nah. The two of you, go to the other side of the room. And put the gun down, kid." He twirled his gun around in his hand and smiled, satisfied as the man and the girl retreated. Clementine obeyed and lowered her gun once she made it to the other end of the room.

"You seem like a cool guy, Kenny, is it? I don't care if little girls are your thing. She's okay, I guess. She'll grow up to be a strong six."

Kenny looked like he was ready to lunge towards the man. "Don't you fuckin' say that! If you even think of touching that girl, I'll fuckin' end you!"

"I wouldn't say that to the man with the gun, Kenny." Nate responded calmly.

Clementine reached to grab Kenny's arm as he went to go forward. He shook his head and stepped back.

"Come on, Kenny" she whispered. "You have to calm down."

"I can't let these people hurt you." he responded simply.

Clementine sighed. "Just don't do anything stupid."

Martha's voice rang out. Kenny and Clementine stopped their conversation to stare at the woman.

"What the fuck are you doing, Nate? Either shoot the people or take some shit and get out of here!" she exclaimed.

"Fine. Fine. You all love to suck the fun out of things, don't ya? I actually wanted to sit down and have a nice drink with these people. Guess it's too late for that."

Nate proceeded to pace slowly around the room. He seemed so casual as he twirled the pistol in his fingers and whistled. His eyes settled on the supply bags.

Kenny continued his yelling when he realized what Nate was eying up. "You guys are trash, you know that? Those are our fucking supplies! If you steal that, you're killin' two kids, dammit!"

"Oooh. What do we have here?" Nate asked rhetorically, ignoring Kenny. He squatted down and shuffled quickly though one of the bags.

The man with the bat spoke up again. "Shut the fuck up, old man. You think we care about you or your kids?"

"I think you'll care when we murder you sonsofbitches."

Martha rolled her eyes. "And how exactly do you expect to do that, Einstein?"

"Like I said, I'll rip your damn throats out."

Martha smirked. "Sounds like a great plan, doesn't it John?"

Nate, meanwhile, smiled and stood up, satisfied by all the supplies he had discovered. He cleared his throat dramatically. All eyes shifted towards Nate. He remained silent for a few moments, obviously enjoying the tension that filled the room. The corner of his lips turned upwards into a psychotic grin.

"Say, Martha, should we just kill these folks and take all their stuff?"

Clementine stared at Martha, chilled by fear. Martha's eyes widened in surprise, for she was obviously uncomfortable with being put on the spot. She stammered for a moment and then hung her head down to the floor.

 _She doesn't want to kill us_ , Clementine realized. At least one person was bluffing. The girl figured if they played their cards right, they could make it out of here with few losses. She looked up to Kenny, hoping to silently communicate with him. However, she could tell he had other plans.

Clementine followed his gaze. His eyes were focused intently on Nate. She heard Kenny inhale shakily. Suddenly, he busted away from Clementine and sprinted to the center of the room.

Martha responded meekly to Nate. "We don't have to kill them, do we? This isn't a game. They-"

"Kenny! Don't!" she screamed, cutting off Martha. Unfortunately, it was too late. Kenny had already lunged on top of the armed-man.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Kenny had knocked Nate to the ground, and the two men both wrestled around. Clementine's heart jumped in her chest when she saw Nate raise his pistol towards Kenny. Luckily, Kenny managed to knock the gun out of his hand. It's metal body created a dull noise as it skidded across the wooden floor.

Clementine didn't want to just be a bystander. She wanted to raise her gun and fire, but she knew it wasn't safe. Her aim was good, but the two men were in constant motion. One second Nate had the upper hand, and the next it went to Kenny. She watched on hopelessly, still anticipating an opening.

Nate kneed Kenny in the stomach, and Kenny inhaled sharply in pain. The man took advantage of Kenny's hesitation, and managed to push Kenny off of him. Nate's hand were curled into tight fists, which he hurled towards Kenny's face. After receiving multiple blows, Kenny managed to raise his arms and wrap his fingers around his opponent's neck.

Clementine spared a glance around the rest of the bedroom. Martha was backing away from the fight, her face a jumble of multiple emotions. The other man, John, seemed to be contemplating breaking into the scramble. Clementine figured he feared getting hurt more than he wanted to help his friend.

Her bright eyes shifted back towards the scuffle. She heard curses emerging from Kenny's mouth, and the sound of Nate choking for breath. Nate's hands, which were wrapped firmly against Kenny's wrists, finally yanked Kenny's hands off of his throat. Clementine heard his deep intake of breath. He turned backwards for a second and grabbed a fallen book. He threw it into Kenny's face.

Nate managed to throw a few more punches into Kenny's face. The majority were aimed towards his eye. Kenny raised his hands to block Nate's next punches. When one of Nate's hits had a slow delivery, Kenny managed to grab his fists and push him back to the floor. He wrapped his hands around Nate's head and slammed it into the ground. Nate was struggling to become free from Kenny's grasp, but Kenny still held on. Kenny bashed the man's head against the cold wooden floor once more. For a third time, Clementine heard Nate's skull pound against the hard wood. The man's struggling ceased.

Every thud of the man's head made Clementine feel rather sick. "Uh...Kenny. He's had enough. Really, just stop!" She looked at his limp body. His chest was still rising and falling, but he was knocked out cold.

AJ had began crying softly in her arms. However, no one's mind was on the infant at this moment.

Clementine saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She followed the movement to see Martha, scrambling towards the abandoned gun. The young girl felt her stomach drop. Clementine spared a glance over at Kenny. He was no longer bashing the man's head into the ground. She saw his hand fly over towards his injury as he groaned.

Her eyes flew back over to Martha. She now had the gun in her hands, and it was aimed at Kenny. Clementine knew she had to stop this. She shifted AJ completely into her left arm and raised her pistol in return.

Kenny's good eye widened as he saw Martha holding the gun towards him. "Don't you fuckin' dare!" he threatened rather emptily. Unfortunately, his tired and weakened tone overshadowed his spiteful words.

"STOP!" Clementine yelled. "I'll shoot!"

Martha was in too deep of a thought to hear Clementine's warning. Yet still, she didn't fire at Clementine's companion. Clementine sighed and aimed the gun carefully at Martha. She hated to hurt people, but yet she knew it was unavoidable at this point. As she prepared herself to pull the trigger, she heard the other man yell.

"Martha! The girl's holding a gun at you!"

Martha's head snapped over towards Clementine as her eyes widened. She crouched down and sat the pistol gently on the floor. "No. Please don't shoot...I won't-"

The girl snapped her finger off the trigger and after a few seconds lowered the pistol. Clementine cut her off. "Just get out!"

"I-I won't hurt any of you. I-I don't think I can. Just..." Martha's voice trailed off.

Clementine followed Martha's wavering gaze to the center of the room. The other man was rushing towards Kenny, bat in hand.

"NO! DON'T!" Clementine screamed.

Unfortunately for Clementine, John had seemingly no problems with hurting Kenny. He swung the bat and struck Kenny's head. The noise sickened the girl.

She held her pistol up again and and aimed at John's shoulder. Martha was pleading with her to stop, rather unsuccessfully. Clementine didn't want the shot to be fatal, but she wanted him to stop. She firmly pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and the bullet hit the man square in her target. His bat dropped to the ground with a dull thud, voicing the man's shock. He looked at Clementine, his expression filled with both pain and confusion.

"You...you shot me?" he asked.

The girl retaliated. "You made me do it! I warned you!"

"Clementine!" Kenny called out weakly.

She looked over at him, worried. His voice sounded tired, and he looked somewhat confused. Worry flooded through her. She knew she hadn't gotten her gun out in time. Maybe if she would have shot the man faster, all would have been better. She jogged over to Kenny, sparing a glance at the two intruders. Martha was tending to the other man and whispering at an indiscernible level.

Clementine crouched down next to Kenny. "Are-are you okay?" she asked.

Kenny put his hand on his head. His body was swaying slightly. He then moved his hand towards Clementine, and showed her his palm. It was covered with a few speckles of blood.

She smiled. "That...doesn't look too bad! I mean the punches, the book, the bat. I expected more." Her eyes then traveled to his face. His expression still appeared confused and pained. "So...are you okay?"

Before Kenny could answer, Martha's gentle voice rang out. "So...can you guys just let us get Nate, please?"

Kenny answered. "Whatever gets you assholes the hell outta here."

"And uh...can you spare any medical supplies? Please? For the shot?"

Kenny answered. "You guys tried to rob us! And now you're askin' for charity?" He laughed bitterly. "Fuck that!"

"What?" Martha asked. "I could've killed you, you know? I don't agree with what those two do. I'm just in it for the survival and-" She cut off her own train of thought. "Why am I sharing that? Fine. I get it. I understand." Martha grabbed Nate by the shoulders and began to drag him away. The exchange left a sour taste in the girl's mouth.

She didn't want to just let them go like this. She knew they were bandits, and she saw first hand what bandits were capable of multiple times in the past. Still, she couldn't just allow them to march to their deaths. Lee taught her that sometimes, you can't do the right thing. That sometimes being a good person can get you killed. But he also said that you should do the right thing whenever it's possible. If you lose your humanity, you become no better than one of the things roaming outside.

With that in mind, Clementine decided to take action. "Wait!" she called out. Martha turned back to look at the girl. "We...actually do have something for you."

Martha's face lit up as she smiled, grateful. "Thank you so much. We-"

Kenny interrupted her. "Clem, you really think it's a good idea to help these people? Remember what happened when we helped Bonnie and Arvo? We can't give them anything."

Clementine felt anger begin to run through her. "No!," she began. "How come I don't ever have a say in anything? We don't need everything we have right now, and if we need it later, we can find more. We can't just let these people die!"

"Now Clem-"

"No! Just let me talk." she snapped. Kenny seemed to be shocked by the tone in her voice. "I won't give them a lot. I just want to give them something to help with the bleeding. And Bonnie and Arvo? I'm still glad we tried to help them."

"This isn't a good idea, Clementine." he retorted.

"Just take AJ. I am helping these people!" she exclaimed, ending the argument.

Kenny groaned in response and relented. Despite the circumstances, a small smile formed on his face as Clementine handed him the infant.

Clementine turned away from Kenny and marched towards the supply bags. She opened one and dug through to the First-Aid Kit. She put the kit on her lap and snapped it open. Inside lay the needle and stitches she used before, bandages, an ointment, and a small bottle of painkillers. She sat there and decided what she should hand them.

Unsure, she opted against her better judgment to ask Kenny. "I know you don't want to share, but what should I give them?"

Before Kenny could respond, John butted in. "Just hurry up. I'm kind of fucking bleeding over here!"

Clementine could make out the sound of Martha groaning under Kenny's yells. "Hey! She's helpin' you and y'all are just complainin'! Clem, do these people really deserve this stuff?"

"Yeah! They do." she replied firmly, sighing. She had known Kenny wouldn't exactly provide much help in the matter.

She tore some bandages off of the roll and managed to rip off some of the suturing thread.

"Uh...here you go," she said, standing up to hand Martha the supplies. She knew it wasn't much, but a little was better than nothing. Just the tiniest, most insignificant gesture could save a life.

Martha beamed in response. "Thank you so much."

"Um...sorry I can't give you the needle. We only have one. I think you can find something."

"No, it's great. I'm glad you didn't listen to your friend over there." Martha replied.

"Oh...and uh here," Clementine said, running back to grab something else.

The girl jogged back towards the woman and opened her hand to reveal two small packs of crackers. "You might need these, too."

"Thanks again, kid." she said, shoving all of the supplies into her bag. "Stay safe."

And with that, Martha bent down to grab her unconscious companion. She hoisted him up by the shoulders and dragged him towards the doorway as John stood back grimacing and clutching his shoulder.

Clementine then turned back towards Kenny. She didn't want him to be angry with her, but at the same time she realized there was no reason to be. All she did was what she thought was right. If he doesn't agree, he simply doesn't agree.

Kenny merely looked at her with a stern expression and shook his head, disappointed. "You shouldn't have done that."

"I'm glad I did." the girl admitted. She knew if she would've just let them leave, that they would've died out there. She was the one that shot John, and it was her responsibility to give him a hand. The fact that he seemed to be a jerk was irrelevant to her.

"Now what happens if you get sick, darlin'? What if you keep bleeding and we don't have any bandages? What if you starve to death because we gave away those crackers?" he questioned, cradling AJ.

Clementine hated to see the worried expression on his face. He could've been freed of this responsibility, she realized. She knew if she would've went to Wellington, he finally would have felt like he did the right thing. He finally would've been able to save someone. Now, he was stuck with the worry but he was still alive. That's the main reason Clementine rejected the temptation of safety and comfort. How could she live with strangers when her last friend was out there, dying? But now, she didn't know if she was helping him or hurting him. A small part of her felt she was becoming a burden.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to help, so I did. And it won't come to that. I won't let it." she confided.

Kenny sighed. "You don't have to be sorry, Clem. You didn't do nothing wrong."

Clementine smiled at the last part of the man's words. That was something she really needed to hear as of late.

Clementine briefly examined Kenny and noticed a small amount of blood seeping through his shirt. The poor shirt had been through a lot. The entire bottom half was covered with dried blood, and now tiny pinpricks of fresh blood were soaking its threadbare fabric.

"Kenny, you're bleeding again!" she exclaimed.

He groaned. "Well, that explains why it smarts."

He lowered his shaky hands to lift up the bottom of his shirt and reveal the wound. Clementine was pleasantly surprised by Kenny's state. The majority of her sutures were still in place and there was a relatively small amount of blood.

"Is that bad, Kenny? The stitches are still in, kinda, and it's only a little blood."

Kenny forced a wry smirk. "Well, you're the doctor, Clem. I sure as hell wouldn't know. Give me your expert opinion."

She looked at it one second longer and then allowed her bright eyes to travel back towards Kenny's face. "I...I think you're going to be okay."

"Well that's a relief," Kenny stated as he lowered his shirt. "Good thing I got health insurance."

"What?" Clem asked, confused. She suddenly had no clue what he was talking about.

Kenny laughed upon seeing the baffled expression on her face. He found it funny that she could be so wise and could know so many interesting things, but have no idea what health insurance is.

"It's nothin'. And I was wondering if you could touch my forehead. See if it's hot?" Kenny felt pretty sick all of a sudden, but he didn't want to scare Clementine. He couldn't imagine how freaked out she was when he took that spill last night, and during this whole charade with the bandits.

Kenny watched Clementine reach out tentatively to gauge his temperature. Her hand felt very cool against his skin, and he could tell from the quick frown on her face that he did indeed have a fever. The first thought that came to him was how he could watch over the kids now.

"You do feel pretty hot. And you're starting to look a little pale." Clementine told him.

Kenny groaned. "Well ain't that nice?" he asked sarcastically.

Clementine sighed. "I guess I better get to work. Can you hand me AJ?"

"Oh...uh sure." he replied.

Clementine carefully took the baby from a reluctant Kenny's arms. No matter the occasion, Kenny always loved holding Alvie and never wanted to let go. The infant brought him back to a time so long ago he wasn't sure if it ever truly existed. The infant was hope, innocence, and second chances. He looked onwards as Clementine lay him down in his crib.

He watched as Clementine walked over to their bags and emerged with medical supplies. Kenny never was the best at reading people, but as she walked back towards him he knew the smile on her face was forced. She crouched down on the floor next to Kenny and handed him a few pain pills. He looked at the large pills in his hand, unexcited for the sensation of taking them without water. The man raised them to his mouth and dry-swallowed them in one gulp, cringing at the feeling in his throat. He looked back at Clementine, who was staring intently at his wound.

"Do you know what to do, Clem?" he asked gently.

She seemed to jump slightly at the sound of his voice. "Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking something."

"What?" he asked, curious. "You can tell me." He had the feeling that whatever she was thinking wasn't good.

"I don't know if I can." she responded simply.

Clementine's demeanor left him a little worried. "I promise I won't be upset."

A small sigh escaped Clementine's lips."Can you please...just stop it?" she asked, eyes still fixated intently on his injury.

The vagueness of her words baffled him. "Could you be more specific there?"

Clementine began fumbling with some of the equipment in her hand. "Like with the bandits. And almost everywhere. You just get mad and you make things worse."

Kenny was at a loss for words. He knew what she was saying was true, but hearing the words aloud just formed them into a real and tangible entity.

The young girl continued. "It scares me. What happened yesterday and what happened today. You could have avoided this. I'm just so worried that I could mess up here and that you could die or something." Her voice lowered to an almost inaudible level. "Sometimes you scare me." she confessed.

Although her voice lowered to the sound of the quietest whisper, he felt as if her words shook the ground beneath him. He was suddenly sick of the game he played. He always tried to play the hero, so at the end of the day he could claim his humanity was intact. He always ran away from his guilt, so it didn't consume him. He felt his tactics held no weight. His morality was bunk and his guilt was real. He wanted to do something for this kid that was in his care. He needed to do something that could erase his mistakes. He had to stop his games, and get real. He needed to make it up to her.

"Well," he muttered. "I scare little girls and I kill people. I-I...I'm sorry. I'm not going to let this shit happen again. I know I've said it countless times, but I mean it. I will change Clementine. You hear me?"

Finally, she looked him in the eyes. "I believe you," she said gently.

He couldn't tell if her words were sincere, which hurt him even more. He told himself everyday he would fix things, but the day he actually managed to change was yet to come. He hoped that this time his promise wouldn't be a fib.

"So...this is gonna hurt." she admitted, changing the subject.

He squinted his eye shut in anticipation. "Ole Kenny can take it."

His mind was still on the girl's words. _I scare her sometimes_ , he thought. _I scare her._ He could add that on the constantly growing list of "Things I Know But Won't Admit To Myself."

He felt Clementine begin the work on his stomach. The painkillers hadn't quite kicked in yet, which was pretty much what he expected. It burned, but yet he felt numb. The sensation was horrible, but yet he found something peaceful in it.

"I'm sorry," Clementine said. "This probably reaaaaally hurts."

"I'm fine." he forced out between gritted teeth.

He focused on the burn of his injury for the rest of the procedure. It distracted him. It took him away from his melancholic thoughts. His worries, fears, guilt, and regret all dissipated, and all that remained was the pain.

He was unsure of how much time passed until Clementine declared she was finished.

"Can you sit up?" she asked, bandages in hand. "It's time to wrap it up."

"Alright", he replied, obeying her order. He sat still as she wrapped the gauzy bandages around his torso.

"Done." she announced brightly.

Kenny beamed at the girl. "Thanks. You did a great job here."

"I sure hope so," she replied. " Now I can take care of the house for a few hours. Okay?"

Kenny frowned at the thought. He was not comfortable with this. "I don't know Clem."

"Please. Just trust me. I don't want want a repeat of tonight."

Before he could respond, Clementine held out her small hand towards Kenny. "Come on," she said softly. "You need to rest."

He reluctantly placed his hand gently in her palm, and pushed himself up as the child pulled. With Clementine's assistance, he managed to stumble onto one of the beds. Clementine helped him get in, the sweet kid. Kenny's fatigue overtook him once he hit the sheets. The mattress may have felt a little stiff to the man, but it was heaven for all he cared. His last sight before drifting to sleep was Clementine tenderly covering him with a warm quilt.

Clementine whispered "Goodnight," into the sleeping man's ears. She knew her whispers were unbeknownst to Kenny, but she thought he deserved the kind words, especially after her confession earlier. She hoped she didn't come off as too harsh. The fact was, he did scare her at times. However, the large majority of the time she regarded him as a non-scary friend. With Kenny asleep, she settled down comfortably to watch over the house. She knew that it would be a long night.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Fortunately for Clementine, the remainder of the night was rather uneventful. No more intruders found their way into the home, and she managed to fight off the grasp of sleep. The only real obstacle she faced during the night was being AJ's caretaker. However, the girl figured out how to make formula for the infant easily after a few rounds of trial and error. She also was already somewhat capable of managing his cries, so she was well-prepared for everything that came her way.

Light was now filtering through the two small bedroom windows, casting a yellowish glow on everything in the room. The heat from the sun's rays helped warm the child's cool skin. Although everything was calm and quiet, she still felt as if she was being challenged. Her worst challenge, at the moment and throughout the night, was to sit alone with her thoughts. When surrounded with others, Clementine was able to push aside most of her worries. But when the girl had a moment alone, her mind would drift to rather unpleasant places.

The persistent nagging of regret would pester her for what seemed like an eternity. Thoughts of friends she couldn't save and memories of actions she should have taken left her feeling like a husk of her former self. If she could go back, she'd do so many things differently. However, she knew thoughts like those were useless. She couldn't go back, and even if she could, who knows if she could've made things worse.

But honestly, the girl didn't see how things could get any worse. It seemed to her as if every time she met someone, formed a connection with them, they died. So many of them died saving her, or passed on because she had made a mistake. She questioned if it was worth it, so many lives lost just for one kid. The story Jane told her pushed its way into her reverie. All those people died just to save one person, and in the end it wasn't worth it. She knew the story was about Kenny, and she had shook her head and told herself that it was always worth it to help someone. If you just look out for yourself, what does that say about you? But now, during this peaceful winter dawn, she saw the tale in a whole new light.

Clementine wanted Kenny to continue sleeping, because she knew that the rest was good for him. But yet she yearned for him to wake up. She wanted someone to talk to, someone to share her fears with, someone who could make it better. But even when the man did awaken, she knew she wouldn't share anything of substance. Clementine did care about Kenny, she really truly did. Also, the two had formed a mutual trust towards one another since they were re-introduced back at the Ski Lodge. Still, the thought of dumping more worries onto a man that's already under so much pressure just seemed cruel to her, in a way. She was already regretting telling the man that she feared him. It wasn't true, was it? Was she afraid of him? She never permitted the thought into her mind, but last night it found a way in and she couldn't keep it inside.

She sighed and stood up slowly to stretch out her legs. The bright sun blinded her as she stood up, yet it simultaneously was very welcoming. However, even nature's treasures couldn't be entirely enjoyed. The sun had to go down and dark and dreary afternoons were needed desperately. The heat from its rays was raising the temperature. Kenny claimed that if it just got a few degrees cooler, the walkers would no longer be a threat. She didn't know if that claim was empty, but they would never be able to find out if the sun kept shining.

Clementine decided to check out one of the books on the shelf. She could feel each second ticking down the hourglass, and its rate was much too slow for her liking. A book would distract her from both her thoughts and time itself.

She trotted over to the book shelf and stared intently at the spine of each book. Many titles contained lengthy jumbles of letters that were impossible to make out. She reached out tentatively to grab a smaller book. It's facade was a simple black expanse, corners adorned with golden foliage. The title was simple for the child to read. "Book of Fairy Tales," it stated in a proud cursive print. She felt a slight pull towards the book, although she felt it to be much too childish and frivolous. She set it back on the shelf gently with a sigh.

"Clementine?" she heard, whispered hoarsely behind her.

The girl turned around towards the familiar voice. Kenny still appeared to be sleeping, despite the fact that he just spoke a moment ago.

"Do you need anything?" she asked, curiously, as she approached the man's bed.

"No," he replied sleepily. "Do you need help? How was last night?"

"It was okay." She loomed over Kenny's bed to analyze his condition. Beads of sweat were pouring down his forehead, and his entire appearance was rather clammy. Despite finally receiving a good night of rest, tiredness settled down into every line of his face. Despite her age, she knew it wasn't the type of tiredness that could be fixed with sleep.

"I'm alright Clem. Don't worry yourself about this." A dry cough emitted from the man's mouth. Clementine noticed his lips were incredibly dry.

"I'm glad you're up. It was so quiet last night."

He forced a laugh. "I bet. We only have to do that for a few more nights." He paused to cough. "I just wanna be sure no one lives here before we get too comfortable. There could be trouble."

"So do you need anything?" she repeated. "Food? Water? Another blanket?"

Kenny furrowed his brow and frowned. Clementine wondered how her simple questions put him into a deep stupor. After a moment, he opened his mouth to speak. "There was something Kat always told me about getting sick. Starve a cold, feed a fever? Or was it the other way around? Yeah. It's the other way around."

Clementine was impressed by how nonchalantly he brought up his wife's name. She wanted to congratulate him, but she figured it was better to not bring attention to it.

"Does that mean you want water then?" the girl asked.

"Oh. Yeah sure. Thanks."

Clementine returned again to the supply bags. They were given multiple water bottles, which were very crucial to survival. She didn't know what she would do once they ran out. She wrapped her palm against the plastic bottle and returned to the bed to hand it to her guardian. He took it and smiled gratefully. He swallowed around a mouth full of the liquid and handed it back to Clementine.

"You should drink some now. You have to stay hydrated."

She accepted the bottle, shrugged, and took a gulp. Light crying sounded from behind her.

"I'll get it." Clementine volunteered. She sat the water bottle down on a nightstand and walked over to the baby's crib. He seemed to be rather comfortable in his throne, which in reality was a simple basket filled with blankets.

She tickled his nose and carefully transferred his warm body into her arms. The girl cradled him and stuck her tongue out, which elicited a laughter-like gurgle from the infant's mouth. It had been awhile since AJ had last eaten, so she wondered back over the Wellington bags to grab some formula.

"I can hold him while you fix that up." suggested Kenny.

She set the baby formula down and carried AJ over to the man. "Are you sure?" she asked. She wasn't sure if he was strong enough, or if there was a chance whatever he had was contagious.

"When it comes to this, yeah, I'm sure."

Clementine passed the baby off to Kenny and grabbed the water off of the stand. She wandered back over to the supply bags and sat down on her knees to begin her work. As she worked on the monotonous task of mixing the formula and water in the small cup, she watched Kenny cradle the baby. It was as if holding the infant relieved the man of his worries and brought him peace, although momentarily.

Clementine returned to Kenny, cup of formula in hand.

"Aw I can take that, Clem." he offered, a pleading tone entering his voice.

Clementine grinned and placed the bottle into his hand. Unsure of what to do now, she stood by the bed, left arm clutching her elbow.

Kenny broke the silence. "You're awfully quiet. Somethin' eating you?" His gaze left AJ for a moment to look at the young girl.

"Not really." she replied. "I'm usually kinda quiet." She noticed Kenny get this look on his face, as if he just discovered something very obvious.

He shook his head slightly and looked back down at the bundle in his arms. "Yeah, I guess you are. Christa must have rubbed off on ya." he joked.

Clementine felt saddened by the mention of Christa. She couldn't give up on the hope that she was alive, although it felt implausible. She didn't want to chase after Christa, because she knew it would be just like what happened with her parents. She felt she wouldn't find Christa. Well, she didn't doubt that she would run into her corpse or something of the like. The girl didn't want to get anyone else killed chasing after ghosts. The silence stretched on.

She heard Kenny sigh. "Shit! I-I should probably start thinkin' before I start talking. I didn't mean to bring that up. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Clementine said, sitting down on the floor. "I really do miss her."

"I bet." Kenny replied somberly. "We started off on the wrong foot, but she was a nice woman. Don't know if she thought the same of me though. I'm sorry about what happened."

"I am too." she replied quietly, head bowed down. "She looked after me longer than anyone. After Omid died, she was a little distant. She still cared about me though. We looked after each other. We were family."

"I wish things could've went easier for you two. I'm sorry sweetheart."

Clementine looked back up at Kenny and Alvie. The baby's eyes were shut and his little arms were wrapped around the cup Kenny was feeding him with. The scene made one word pop into her mind, and the word was family. Family. Something she had lost so many times before. She didn't know if her heart could handle this all again. Her lower lip trembled.

The trio sat in silence as Clementine felt tears welling up in her eyes. _Not now_ , she thought. _This can't happen now_. After such a long period of holding everything inside, the dam broke.

"Omid died because of me!" she blurted out.

Kenny turned back towards her. " What? Now I'm sure-"

Clementine cut him off. "No! It really was my fault. I-I didn't listen. I left my gun out, and this girl came in and sho-shot him with it! And-and then Christa was mad at me. She never said she was b-but I could tell!" She felt herself losing control as sobs wracked her body.

She continued shakily, eyes squinted shut. "And then Christa got hurt or died or worse because she wanted to protect me! I don't understand why! And Lee and Ben d-d-died because I ran away. And-"

The girl was cut off by Kenny embracing her in a warm hug. The kind gesture, oddly, made her cry even harder.

"Hey," Kenny said softly. "It's gonna be okay, Clem. None of that's your fault."

"Yes it is." she sobbed.

"No, no. You can't beat yourself up over an accident. They all made their decisions and sacrifices for you. And you know what I think?"

"What?" she asked, voice muffled.

"I think it was worth it."

Silence, minus the sound of her cries, ensued for the next few minutes. She felt so little and vulnerable as she sobbed into Kenny's shoulder. She didn't want him to see her like this. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. She sniffled as her blubbering subsided.

"I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be strong." she whispered, a stinging sense of hopelessness lacing her words.

Kenny pushed her away and gripped her shoulders so that they were locked in intense eye-contact. "Look at me Clem. You-you're still here, ain't you? It takes guts for that. Toughness. Strength. You've had to do a lot of growin' up fast. Not too many folks could do that. In a lot of ways, you're like an adult. You're still a kid too. Don't forget that." Despite the hoarseness of his voice, his tone was forceful, powerful, convincing.

Clementine wasn't sure what she could say to that. She sniffled and stared back into the man's face. His expression told her that he was sincere, which left her feeling a sort of shock.

"But...I can't be a kid anymore." she muttered dejectedly.

"You can't. But you can't be an adult, either. I gotta-I gotta start strikin' a good balance here. This is on me, too. I put too much pressure on you, or I don't give you a say on things. I don't think everything through sometimes. I'm not sure what to do. Raisin' a kid ain't exactly what it used to be."

"It's okay. You try your best. Everyone did."

"See?" Kenny interjected, letting go of the child. "You're easy on others, but hard on yourself. No one blames you, so you shouldn't blame you. It's alright, Clementine."

"I guess." she replied, unsure. "But why wouldn't someone blame me for something that is my fault?" she asked. "You were mad at me and so was Bonnie. Did you only forgive me because I'm a kid?"

"When people get mad, they say things they don't mean. Once I calm down, I'm able to think straight. Maybe Bonnie's the same." Kenny paused briefly to cough. "If you didn't mean to do whatever it was you did, or if you tried to help, no one should hold it against you. You had nothin' to apologize for. That was me."

Clementine still felt mainly unconvinced. He had held many instances against others, even when the "offenders" intentions were good and their trespasses were few. Plainly, she felt he was just making excuses.

"Thanks. Can we talk about something else now?" the girl pleaded.

Some of his words had reverberated within her. Maybe she wasn't as weak as she thought she was. Still, a few minutes of talking couldn't undo the feelings she had endured for multiple years. It would take much more. Regardless of how she felt affected by the conversation, she knew that there were more pressing issues to focus their attention on. At the very least, they should put more energy into positive thoughts or silly trials.

"If that's what you want." responded Kenny.

Clementine felt grateful for his offer. His forehead was creased with concern and his dark eyes were filled with sympathy. She wasn't pleased with receiving either. She just wanted to veer his mind away from her little outburst, at least for the time being.

"That would be nice."

Kenny muttered something Clementine couldn't quite make out. He then turned around towards the bed and picked up a sleeping AJ. He sat back down on the floor, cross-legged and leaning against the bed. His movements expressed a certain level of uncharacteristic clumsiness.

"Little guy fell asleep right after eating. Don't blame him." He flashed a smile at Clementine. "Wanna hold 'im?"

"Sure," she responded, reaching out for the infant. Kenny gently passed him onto the girl.

Clementine too found a mask of peace wash over her when she held the baby. He was so innocent and oblivious to the ruins in which they lived.

Kenny coughed. "So uh...what do you wanna talk about?"

Clementine fumbled around for a response. She probably should have had a plan of what to discuss.

"Uh...do you know any jokes?" she asked, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. She instantly regretted her words, remembering most of the jokes he had told her in the past. She didn't exactly feel like laughing in the first place, and Kenny's sense of humor wasn't exactly that of a Grade A comedian.

"Alright, just give me a second." he responded, a rather solemn tone to his voice.

Clementine continued to cradle AJ until Kenny was ready. Just looking at the infant's sleeping face made her want to take a nap herself.

Clementine looked back up at Kenny once she heard him laughing. "Oh, I got one! You're gonna love this."

Kenny cleared his throat dramatically. Clementine, in response, shook her head, a faint smile lining her face.

He chuckled again. "Alright. Listen up, 'cause this is a good one. Some guy walks into a bar. He sits at the counter to order a drink. Before he can get a damn word out, some bowl of pretzels in front of him says 'Hey, you're a real handsome guy.' He tries to ignore the pretzels and orders some rum. 'Rum, great choice. You're a smart guy,' the pretzels tell him. The guy's freakin' out now, 'cause pretzels are talking to him. Now this guy, red in the face yells to the bartender 'Hey, why the hell are these pretzels talkin' to me?'"

Clementine watched on expectantly as Kenny interrupted his own joke to laugh.

After he gathered himself, he finished the punch-line. "The bartender replied 'Oh, that? The pretzels are complimentary!'"

While the joke itself elicited a slight grin from the girl, Clementine found herself giggling over Kenny's reaction to the joke. He was putting on an over-dramatic show of howling laughter.

"I'm gonna pop these!" he exclaimed, gesturing towards his sutures. "Ain't that funny Clem?"

"It was stupid." she replied, still smiling. "Do you have anymore?"

"I knew you liked it! Alright, I'll just need a second."

The pair spent the next hour or so exchanging silly jokes and meaningless stories. Yeah, Clementine found everything about their exchanges to be pointless, but that's what made it great. Just for awhile the girl could push all of her problems aside to simply enjoy the present. It was obvious that Kenny was still deeply worried, but she was grateful that he was putting on this act for her.

The rest of the day held little in store for Clementine. It was as simple as her being entrusted to explore the rest of the house, eating, and watching AJ while a still feverish Kenny continued to pass in and out of sleep. She found the monotony of the day to be rather pleasant compared to her more eventful days. Clem hoped that tomorrow held next to nothing in store for her.


End file.
